Plot, Subplot
by Whyt Wulf
Summary: Seven months post BDM. An apparent blast from the past upsets business on Osiris, and Mal and his crew have to deal with the consequences. NOTE: Taking a short break from this one to possibly write an AU. Please forgive me!
1. Another Dream, Checking In

**Disclaimer**: None of these characters are my creation. I can wish and dream, and play in Joss's 'Verse, but he owns the characters that own my heart.

_A/N: I love Wikipedia! I'll be traveling and getting settled back in at home over the next few days, so my apologies in advance if I don't update this as quickly as I'd like to._

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Chapter 1: The Dream, Checking In

_It was the Valley again. Bodies, flies, carrion birds and all._

_Mal stood in his familiar spot on the hillside. Looking out over the devastation, Sarge Reynolds knew with a soldier's keen instinct that something was wrong. Trying to divine the problem, however, proved a bit more difficult. Everything looked as he expected it to. This scene had been such a regular fixture in his memory over the past seven years that he should have been able to tell immediately if anything was out of place._

_Glancing down at the bodies strewn about his feet, Mal realized at once what was wrong. These weren't the bodies of soldiers, Alliance or Independents. They were his crew. Over and over, he recognized the faces that chilled his heart. Over there, Zo__ë had a small hole in the front of her skull, and the back was plastered all over the boulder she had fallen in front of. Doc had it easy, one hole in his chest, surrounded by a blossom of red. Inara had fallen, gut shot, five feet from Jayne, who had apparently stayed on his feet so long only to protect the Companion. That explained why the merc had more holes in his chest than a piece of swiss cheese. Most tragically, little Kaylee was face down in a mud puddle, a ragged, gaping wound in the back of her left shoulder. Whoever had done this hadn't even given her the decency of dying face up, hopeful eyes to the sky she loved so much._

_Mal looked around in stunned shock, praying he wouldn't see the one face he truly cherished. _Oh no_. There she was, the only living thing besides the birds. She was cradling something in her lap, keening like a banshee as she rocked back and forth, caressing the thing she held. Mal moved close, and saw that it was a person. Without looking at the face, he knew immediately who it was._

Can't look_, he thought. _Can't see myself again_. Without willing it, the former soldier found his feet carrying him closer to the terrifying scene. As he approached, River looked up at him, tears marring her perfect face._

"_Don't look," she said. "Can't bear it." Her voice sounded like it used to, before her brain miraculously healed itself and granted her the peace of regained sanity. Mal, unable to stop himself, reached down and turned the body in her lap so he could see the face. It was gone. Shot off by something large-caliber. The familiar brown hair, seen in countless mirrors throughout his long life, hung over the bloody mess. "Caught you in the back of your head," River said brokenly. "Emptied your brainpan and stole you away from me. Took your eyes and your lips, and now there's nothing to look into or kiss, and I'm all alone." A short sob escaped her lips._

"_How -" Mal started, his voice hitching. "What's goin' on here?" His voice was hoarse, and there was a lump in his throat he had trouble speaking past._

"_I screamed, you turned to see, and they killed you dead." River was rocking and stroking the hair again. She'd turned the body so the face, or the place the face should have been, was buried against her midsection again. Tears ran unchecked down her grimy cheeks. "Revenge is so empty. Can't bring Mal back by killing his killers."_

_Suddenly, unexpectedly, River stopped rocking. Her tears dried, and she stood up, setting the head of a dead Malcolm Reynolds ever so gently on the ground. "Trouble," she said calmly, without any trace of emotion. "Don't go back there. It's just like last time. It's Miranda again, and you can't stop it. You'll fall into the violet belly of the insatiable beast, and get all eaten up and dead. Beware Geb's firstborn."_

_She turned, walking away from Mal, and the world exploded in a flash of red and a riot of screaming._

XXXXX

Mal shot up, stock straight from the waist, and saw River curled against the wall, in the corner of the bed. She was hiding her face in her hands, hair falling across and obscuring her features further. A mindless, feral wailing was issuing forth from her throat, and she was rocking like she had in the dream.

Mal crawled over and pulled her into his lap, soothing her with gentle hands and soft whispers. When her shouting finally evolved into discernible words, they were accompanied by a torrent of tears. The moisture soaked into Mal's bare chest, and she wrapped her arms around his back in a vice grip. "Don't go, don't die. I can't live without you," River sobbed.

"Shh, lil' one," Mal shushed, "ain't nobody dyin' around here. Only place to do any proper dyin' would be dirtside, and we ain't scheduled to touch down for near on two weeks." They'd been in the Black since their last set of runs from Osiris, headed out to the Rim for some vacation and possibly a bit of less profitable, but more exciting, disreputable work. Couldn't let their reputation fall completely into the obscurity of legitimacy, Mal figured. Additionally, the whole crew, while enjoying their admittedly fatter pocketbooks, was beginning to grow bored with the milk runs and legal transit. This was not that type of crew, the Captain knew. _Rather lose money than family_, Mal had reflected many times over the past couple months.

"Don't go back there, Mal. You can't," River was quieter now, but her voice still hitched, and it sounded desperate, on the verge of defeat. Mal didn't know what to make of the terror he had woken to, nor the dream that had preceded it.

"River, sweetheart," Mal said, trying still to sound calm. "Who's this Geb fella, and what've I got to worry about from his kid?" River whimpered at this reminder of the terrible dream, which she had obviously been privy to.

"Geb was a god of the earth in the ancient mythology of Earth-that-was," Simon's voice said from the doorway. Mal had been so concerned for River he hadn't noticed the rice paper screen open. "What's ancient religion have to do with my sister's attack?" Simon was dressed in sleep clothes, his hair disheveled and eyes bleary as if he had just woken up himself.

"She ain't havin' an attack, doc," Mal answered, maintaining his calm tone for River's sake. "She slipped into my dreams again, and we saw somethin' weren't fit for tellin'. Last thing she said to me in the dream was something about lookin' out for this Geb fella's oldest kid. I don't reckon I know how a young 'un from some old Earth-that-was tall tale could cause the kinda harm we saw in the dream place, but I know what I heard and I know what I saw. I aim to find out what your sister was talkin' about, and then I intend to heed her words."

Mal, stroking River's hair this whole time, finally looked down and saw the young woman lying calmly, her head still in his lap. "_Beware Geb's firstborn_," she said without looking up, quoting directly from the dream she shouldn't have had.

"Who are you talkin' about, sweetheart?" Mal asked her quietly. "How's some storybook child gonna cause what we saw?" River only whimpered again at the mention of the dream, so Mal just continued to stroke his hand gently over her hair. Simon walked out of the room and returned a moment later holding something in one hand and poking at it with the other.

"Geb and his wife Nut gave birth to the younger gods of ancient Egypt," Simon said, having retrieved his encyclopedia from across the hall. "The four children were Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys." Simon stopped, realizing what he'd just read. "Geb's firstborn was Osiris. River, are you telling us to stay away from Osiris?"

"Now there's an explanation makes some sense," the Captain said. "Tell you what, I'll give your Pa a Wave in the mornin' and see if there's anything goin' on we need to be concerned of. Meantime, we keep on to Jiangyin. Now head on back to bed, doc. I got the care'a your sister tonight. We'll be fine."

Simon, having forgotten in the excitement that he had walked into his sister's room to find the Captain in her bed, was suddenly red faced and blustery. "We'll talk about _this_ situation," he stammered, motioning to the two people in the bed, "in the morning." Having said his piece, Simon slid the screen shut and returned to his bed.

"Somethin' wrong sweetie?" Kaylee asked sleepily from his bed. Simon was struck suddenly with the absurdity of his stance on Mal being in River's room. _Perhaps I'll let him slide, this once_, Simon thought.

"No, _bao bei_," Simon said as he crawled back under the covers and snuggled into the engineer's warmth. "Just a bad dream."

"Oh," she responded blearily, slipping off again quickly into sleep. "Who's, yours? Or was it Cap'n or River?"

"All of the above."

XXXXX

"Mmmm," Mal rumbled, from deep in his chest, as River gave him a lingering kiss. "Enough'a that, lil' one, or I'm not like to leave anytime soon." Mal stood up and smiled, heading toward the door. "I'll see you at breakfast."

As Mal stepped from River's room, sliding his suspenders over his shoulders, Kaylee also left Simon's room. With a radiant, typical Kaylee smile, _Serenity's _engineer greeted the Captain with a flamboyant kiss on the cheek and, "Mornin', Cap'n! You have good sex last night?"

These moments always disturbed Mal on some deep, brotherly level, and suddenly his empathy for Simon was magnified. He resolved to never, _ever_, talk to Simon about sex with his sister, if he could help it. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, Mal replied pleasantly, "Good morning, Kaylee. I trust you and the doctor had a nice night?" With a pointed look over Kaylee's shoulder, Mal raised an eyebrow.

Simon must have gotten the hint. "Morning, Captain," he said tiredly. "How's River this morning?" Mal brushed his worry off, as normal, and Simon gave him an apologetic, 'I won't bring up your sleeping arrangements' look. "Breakfast?" the younger man asked hopefully. Motioning down the hall, Mal let Kaylee lead their little expedition to the galley.

XXXXX

"Malcolm! How good to see you," Gabriel Tam said over the Cortex later that morning. "Have your vacation plans changed so soon? We didn't expect to hear from you for at least another month." Gabriel and Regan knew that _Serenity's_ crew had decided to take some time off from legal business, but didn't know exactly where the ship was headed, as there was no definite plan when they left.

"No sir," Mal answered, trying to sound upbeat. "I was just callin' to check on everything. River seems concerned that something might be wrong with some of our associates. Have you heard anything out of the ordinary lately?" Mal's thoughts drifted back to the dream momentarily. _It's Miranda again_, she'd said. Mal had learned to take his dreams at face value over his past months with a Reader, and he couldn't help but recall what had happened to all his business contacts back _then_.

"Malcolm, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me sir?" Gabriel answered jovially. "Actually, now that you mention it, I don't think I've talked to a single one of them in at least two days. It does seem a bit odd. Would you like me to make the rounds and check on everyone?"

"No, sir," Mal answered hastily. "I don't reckon that's necessary. Probably just coincidence. We'll let you know when we're headin' back Core-ward. The kids send their love."

"Their mother will be pleased to know they're well," Gabriel said in the fatherly tone of voice that really meant,_ 'I'm _glad'._ "_Thank you, Malcolm. I'll talk to you soon" Mal reached forward and pressed the disconnect icon on the Cortex screen, wondering how he could tell Mr. Tam that he hated being called Malcolm.

River stepped in, then, padding silently on bare feet over the metal plates of the floor. Mal knew she was there immediately, having developed that second-sight one has only for a person one loves deeply. "Hey there, lil' one," he said without turning around. "Just got off the Cortex with your Pa. He says there's no problem that he knows of, and he's pretty well connected."

The diminutive pilot stepped up behind her Captain, wrapping her arms around his shoulders affectionately. "We'll find out soon enough," she said with finality. A single tear leaked from her eye, wetting Mal's cheek where their faces touched.

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_bao bei_ - sweetheart 


	2. Jealousy, A job Goes Bad

**Disclaimer**: None of these characters are my creation. I can wish and dream, and play in Joss's 'Verse, but he owns the characters that own my heart.

Chapter 2

River landed then on Jiangyin two weeks later, more calm now with time and no repeat of the dream. No news had come from her parents, and Mal took that as a good sign. The crew took a few days off to get reacquainted with the sight of a sky and the company of other people, some staying in town at night to break the routine of shipboard life. Mal took River to a bed and breakfast, Zoë having volunteered to keep an eye on _Serenity _for him. After a relaxing evening, broken frequently by frantic bursts of very enjoyable physical activity, the couple lay in bed, cuddling. "So, lil' one," Mal finally asked, "how you feel about linin' up some crime for our restless crew?"

River caught the fact that Mal had unconsciously referred to them not as _my crew_, but _our crew_, and it touched her heart in an odd way. He had never done that before, unless it was in conversation with Zoë. Apparently, at some point in their budding relationship, River had become more than the pilot. She had acquired, through no conscious act on the part of the crew, a sort of status as mistress of the ship. She had gone, in an amazingly short time, from being the crazy girl who wasn't even really crew, to a member of the command structure. Nobody intentionally treated her differently, but River had noticed recently that on some of their less legitimate jobs, where muscle was required for more than moving crates, even Jayne looked to her occasionally for support of instruction.

"I think a little trouble is just what we need right now," River said after a few silent moments. "Break the monotony a bit, perhaps."

"You don't have any ... bad feelin's," Mal asked hesitantly, "do ya?"

"No, lover, no bad feelings. You'll be the first to know," River answered. "I think crime can wait until the morning, though," she said huskily, pressing herself into Mal's side seductively.

"Or maybe later afternoon, I'm thinkin'," Mal said, responding to the press of naked flesh. As River laughed sweetly, their lips met.

XXXXX

True to his word, Mal and River didn't return to _Serenity _until late the next day. Mal went immediately to the bridge to Wave a few contacts, while River went to her bunk in the passenger dorms to bathe and change. An hour later, the Captain had made a contact. After changing himself, he sought out Zoë. "Got a meet in town this evening," he said. "You comin' with?"

"We bringin' Jayne or River?" Zoë asked by way of answer. When the Captain asked her to do something, it was age old habit to assume it was a politely worded order, even if that's not how Mal intended it. Soldier instincts were hard to shake.

"Jayne can babysit the ship," Mal answered with a chuckle, "long's we ain't away too long. 'Sides, River's been itchin' at them new guns'a hers since she got 'em."

"I'd be antsy to show them fine things off my own self," the first mate laughed. "You really went all out on them, sir. She's a mighty lucky girl, if I do say so." The wistful look on Zoë's face made Mal's heart ache for his old friend. Not knowing how to deal with her grief, however, he stuck stubbornly to the original topic.

Mal said uneasily, "I commissioned 'em on Persephone, and had to wait over a month to pick 'em up. I'm glad they came out so well, otherwise I might feel a bit cheated."

Grateful to the Captain for his usual avoidance of emotional moments, Zoë smiled and asked, "Cost you a pretty penny then, sir? They do look a mite pricey."

"Yeah," Mal said in an explosion of breath, laughing self-deprecatingly afterward. "I reckon I ain't never spent that much on any woman 'sides _Serenity _before. Worth every bit and platinum, though, to see that look on her face." Mal smiled at the memory, one he'd always hold on to. "Anyway," he said after a moment, shaking off his own moment of weakness in front of his first mate. "We got a meet to get to. I'll get River, you go let Jayne down gently."

Zoë smiled slightly, really just the corners of her mouth, and agreed. The two headed off in separate directions. When Zoë found Jayne and gave him his assignment, the merc was irate. "Whaddaya _mean_ I gotta stay here? I go on jobs. That's what I do. I don't go out on jobs, what'm I getting' paid for?"

"You don't wanna get paid," Zoë said icily, "ain't no skin off my back. Your job is whatever Cap' tells you to do. _That_ is what you get paid for. Cap' says stay and guard the ship, that's your paycheck. 'Sides," Zoë continued in a conciliating tone of voice, hoping to shut Jayne up and make this easier on herself, "this ain't the job, just the meet. You'll be on the job. _Dong ma_?" Jayne nodded and sulked off to his bunk to clean his guns, the next best pastime to actually using them.

Across the ship, Mal called River's name as he neared the passenger dorms. "Saddle up, lil' gunslinger. We got us a meet!" Before Mal had made his way back out of the corridor toward his own bunk, River ran up silently behind him and threw her arms around his waist.

"I'm going instead of Jayne?" she asked excitedly. When Mal turned around and nodded at her, smiling at her good mood, River kissed him quickly and ran back to her room to grab her duster, gun belt and boots. By the time Mal got to the cargo bay, the two ladies were already waiting for him, River tapping her foot impatiently. "Let's go, old man!" she chided loudly, while Zoë tried to hide her mirth by ducking her head toward the floor.

"Hey now, pup," Mal cautioned. "We got plenty'a time. 'Sides, you keep makin' comments like that, I'm like to believe you. Would make for some mighty dull shuffleboard and early to bed nights. I reckon you wouldn't like that overmuch, all the energy you been makin' me use lately."

Zoë turned around and made a gagging sound at that last, walking quickly down the ramp and into the dirt of the field they'd landed in the previous day. "Enough'a that _go se_ 'round the single lady, you two," she tossed casually over her shoulder. "We got work needs doin', and I reckon we might lose a good contact, you two keep on with the bedroom talk in front'a him."

Mal shot her a stricken look. "You think I'm bein' unprofessional, then, Miss Consummate Soldier?" Zoë laughed quietly at the Captain, who continued, "I do believe there was a certain couple made my bridge reek'a sex on more'n a couple occasions." Zoë's good-natured groan informed the other two that she was comfortable on the topic, despite the constant battle they knew she'd been fighting against loneliness since the loss of her husband.

"Give it up, sir," she chuckled. "_Somebody_ had to christen _Serenity_, since you didn't seem able to get any for so long." River's exuberant laughter and Mal's shocked 'Hey!' and subsequent stunned silence lasted the trio a good part of the way to town. The friendly back-and-forth continued until they reached the pool hall they were to meet their contact in.

As soon as they began to approach the outer door, however, the three put on their business faces, looking almost as if none of them even knew how to smile. Zoë walked in first, assuming her customary role as bodyguard for her Captain, while Mal and River walked through side-by-side. The two looked for all the world like twins with their slightly-south-of-neutral expressions and brown suede dusters. Even Zoë was mildly shocked to see the resemblance, thinking to herself that they'd been spending too much time together lately.

Mal walked through the room to a table in back, having picked his contact out of the crowd of people almost immediately. He sat down across from a slim, attractive woman, Zoë and River taking chairs to either side of the Captain. As River swept her coat back to sit, the woman eyed her pistols with a combination of wary distrust and envy.

"McOwen," the Captain greeted her.

"Please, call me Vanessa," McOwen replied silkily, giving Mal a seductive look. Curiosity crossed her face then, and she said, "Some mighty nice hardware you got there girl. What's the R stand for?"

Before Mal could speak, River rushed forth an answer. "Reynolds. A lovely wedding present, don't you think, dear?" This last she said with an adoring look at the Captain. She grabbed Mal's hand quickly under the table, at the same time, and _squeezed_. Mal got the hint and, though he didn't understand why, agreed. Zoë, thankfully true to form, showed no indication of the surprise River could feel flowing from her like water.

The four of them got down to business immediately after, though Ms. McOwen seemed to sulk throughout the meeting. Once the job had been arranged, much cheaper than Mal would have preferred to agree to, the trio left the bar as quickly as was polite. Once out of sight in the busy streets of the city, Mal turned to River with a bewildered, slightly angry look on his face. "I reckon you hurt our profits mightily with that little stunt, _wife_. What the good gorram was that about, anyway? Less'n I was_ very _drunk, I don't remember marryin' you anytime recent!"

River, noticing the Captain's ranch hand accent grow thicker with his anger and confusion, giggled. It was not the right thing to do, as Mal began to glare at her in earnest. "Sorry love, truly. I sensed something ... _not right_ about that woman. Some motive other than the job. Forgive me?" she asked sweetly, sliding her hand into Mal's. He didn't pull away, though he didn't drop his glare either.

Mal, not used to being swindled after months of easy, legal living, wasn't sure how to take this news. "I can go shoot her dead right now, that's the case."

"Not necessary," River replied calmly. "We've been cheated often enough in the past. I'm sure we can find a way to make things work in our favor." The young pilot paused, confusion plain on her face.

Zoë saw River's expression and smiled. "I think you're just a mite jealous." Mal's eyebrows shot up in interest. "Could it be you just didn't like the fancy words and come-hither looks some attractive stranger was shootin' the captain?"

"I suppose that's a possibility," River answered seriously. "And if that's the case," she continued dangerously, "it means she tried to seduce my man. So _I_ get to shoot her."

XXXXX

Unfortunately, from River's perspective, the pick up went smoothly, and there was no need to shoot anybody. Jayne was also unhappy with this development, as he usually was when there was no gun play. The crew didn't ask what the cargo was, but there were three large boxes to stow in the smuggler's hole in the cargo bay. _Serenity_ was destined for Greenleaf, where the cargo was to be delivered. The trip passed uneventfully, and they landed on the planet on schedule a few days later.

The contact they were to deliver to had agreed to meet them for the drop that evening, just outside of town. The coordinates the man transmitted to River were in a hilly part of the countryside, providing perfect cover for snipers and the like. Mal was skittish, Jayne was spoiling for a fight, and Zoë and River were both calm and collected. The captain hadn't asked Jayne scouting the perimeter, though it seemed to River he simply hadn't thought of it.

"Captain Reynolds," a voice spoke from the twilight darkness. "I'm happy to note you trusted me enough not to send your mercenary into the hills with his fine weapon. Unfortunately for you, though, I'm not so trusting." Mal's hand moved slowly toward his gun while he looked sideways at his small pilot. River shook her head minutely, a look of bewilderment in her eyes. "I'd not reach for that if I were you, Captain," the voice said. "Your little Reader can't keep you out of a trap you've already stumbled into, and I doubt even she is fast enough to dodge all the beads we've got on her."

"Who are you?" Mal asked simply. Zoë stood impassively, as always, while Jayne's fingers twitched constantly toward his guns, held at bay only by the Captain's warning looks. River, meanwhile, was scanning the darkness. In here eyes Mal could see the faraway look that indicated she was looking somewhere other than in front of her, with something other than everyday sight.

"I'm sure you're asking yourself how we know about your little secret weapon," the voice said by way of answer. "I'm also sure you're wondering what this has to do with your clandestine delivery tonight. Don't worry, Captain Reynolds. Your contact is not in the picture any longer. Tonight, it's just your little crew and my much larger one. If you'd be so kind as to place your guns gently on the ground," the voice said conversationally, "things would be much easier for you and your people."

Jayne and Zoë looked to Mal for guidance. He nodded slightly and the three of them placed their weapons in a small pile in front of the Captain. River didn't move a muscle, and the disembodied voice made no mention of her sidearms. It was possible, Mal dared to hope, that he didn't expect the little pilot to be armed.

"Now, Reynolds," the voice said, "if you, your first mate and your hired muscle will please take a few steps back, some of my men will be tying you up for your own safety. Ms. Tam, if you wouldn't mind stepping forward, we'll be taking you into protective custody." Mal's blood ran cold at that.

"There ain't no cause for that," the Captain said flatly. "The warrant was revoked months ago. What gorram reason you got for wantin' her?"

"Captain," the man said placatingly, "do you really believe I'd have gone to all this trouble for a monetary reward? Now please, indulge me. Step back before things get ... unfriendly." River gave her lover a look to reassure him, then took two meaningful steps forward. Mal found positive, loving thoughts running through his mind, and knew River was trying to calm him. Obliging his little pilot, the Captain stepped back and motioned the other two to do likewise. "Very good, everybody," the voice said. "Now if you'll all please kneel on the ground, this will be over quickly and painlessly." At a sharp smacking sound and a grunt from Jayne, the voice amended, "somewhat."

* * *

_Dong ma?_ - Understand?  
_go se_ - crap 


	3. An Unexpected Wave

**Disclaimer**: None of these characters are my creation. I can wish and dream, and play in Joss's 'Verse, but he owns the characters that own my heart.

* * *

Chapter 3 

When Mal came to, it was to the dim lights of _Serenity's_ night glowing from the ceiling of the infirmary. Looking around him, he saw Zoë on the main bed to his right. He realized he was laying on the counter that doubled as a second bed in times of need. _Like now_, Mal thought. Zoë had a bloody bandage on her left arm, and another on her left leg. In addition, her head was bandaged. Reaching up to touch his own head gingerly, Mal learned he sported a similar wrapping.

"Zoë?" the Captain said quietly. When his first mate didn't move, Mal decided to try his legs. Standing shakily, the Captain made slow progress to the infirmary door. Simon was asleep on the couch outside, and woke up with a start when Mal cleared his throat loudly.

"Captain," the doctor said in surprise. "You shouldn't be up. You need to rest, regain your strength. You need to get well quickly so you can go find my sister."

"River's gone?" Mal asked urgently. "They took her. Oh god, I shoulda fought, 'stead'a just layin' down arms like that. Why'd she tell me to do it?" Mal's guilt was overwhelming, and he walked weakly over to sit heavily next to the doctor. "Simon, she didn't know they were coming. Why didn't she know?"

Simon looked at the broken Captain. "Mal," he said quietly, calmly, "we have to find her. Once we have her back from whoever took her, we can figure out what's going on with her abilities. Now, what can you tell me about the people who have her?"

"Not much, doc," Mal replied. "Is Jayne all right?" At Simon's nod, Mal asked, "Did he tell you anything useful? Simon shook his head at that. "He never showed himself to us," the Captain continued. "I didn't recognize the voice. He said he wasn't in it for money, though."

As Mal and Simon continued to discuss the situation, Jayne came through on his way to the galley. He spoke with the Captain briefly, assuring Mal that he was fine, and continued on to eat. The mercenary seemed subdued. Eventually, Zoë woke up, and both men went in to see her.

According to the story she told them, she'd decided to fight after she watched Jayne and the Captain fall. They'd both taken vicious blows to the head, and the blood pooling around the men made Zoë think they may be dead. In the ensuing fight, the first mate had wounded two or three of the men, and most likely killed at least one. She had taken bullets in the leg and arm, and then someone had clubbed her from behind.

"I'm tryin' to suss out why they left us alive," Mal said, a puzzled look on his face. "They coulda saved themselves a whole lotta trouble by just killin' us, 'stead'a knocking us out nice and polite like."

"Maybe they're just dumb," Jayne said from behind them, the mouthful of food slurring his words slightly. "Ain't like we never run across stupid criminals before. Remember them bandits we took out on Harvest? Hell, they thought Mal was good for a piece'a trim!"

Jayne received nothing but disdainful stares for his joke and crude laughter. "Why don't we all take this conversation elsewhere," Simon said in a tone of voice that made clear it wasn't a request. "Zoë needs to rest still, and I believe the Captain could use some more sleep as well."

"Ain't sleepin' till I find out who's got my pilot, doc," Mal responded stubbornly. "Plenty'a time to sleep once we're on their trail." Walking weakly along the wall out of the infirmary, though, Simon heard the Captain mumbling, "Might not hurt to sit down, though. Leastways till I get some kinda clue." Mal headed to the bridge, where Inara had been keeping an eye on things.

"How is Zoë?" the Companion asked when Mal dropped heavily into the copilot's chair. "For that matter, why are you up?" Her concern was genuine, as far as the Captain could tell, and he was too weak to argue with the woman.

"Zoë'll be just fine," he answered. "I'm fine, too." At Inara's doubtful expression, Mal sighed wearily. "Okay, I ain't fine. But I can't just lay in the infirmary and recuperate while River's out there somewhere, maybe hurt."

The concern Mal showed for River broke Inara's heart a little. The worry radiating from the man was palpable, and it filled the bridge to the point Inara felt suffocated. "I'm sure we'll find her," the Companion said with as much reassurance as she could muster. "Those people can't just disappear into thin air."

"The Black is awful big," Mal said nearly in defeat. "I don't even know where to start. I just hope I'll get lucky, before something bad happens to her. I don't think I could handle telling Simon or their parents that she wasn't coming home." The unspoken fact that Mal couldn't handle it himself was obvious to Inara, but she had the tact not to mention it to the miserable man.

XXXXX

_Serenity_ spent two days circling Greenleaf. Mal contacted any authority he could think of, short of actually calling the Alliance, trying to file missing persons claims or track down possible leads on the people who had taken his pilot. The ordeal was emotionally taxing, and Mal found himself sleeping much more than he wanted to, especially after his brash declarations to Simon and Inara.

The authorities on Greenleaf were supremely unhelpful, in Mal's opinion. They were completely unable to help the Captain track any potential ships that could have housed the kidnappers, nor were they very willing to take a missing persons report for an adult woman who had only been gone for one day.

None of the neighboring planets were willing to release arrival or departure logs for their spaceports. Mal tried, with every official he spoke to, to file reports for River, who they said was an adult and free to make her own decisions. Mal had no proof that she had been abducted, and so no authorities were willing to believe that she'd been abducted and taken against her will to another planet.

Finally, fed up with official channels and the inevitable red tape that went hand-in-hand with them, Mal gave up on contacting sheriff's offices and planetary governments. Instead, he began to call every contact he had, no matter what planet they were on, trying to find out if they'd heard any word. None had.

On the third day since the abduction, Mal was awakened from an unexpected nap by a loud and insistent banging on the hatch to his bunk. He shot up out of his bed and nearly ran the few feet to the ladder. Opening the hatch, the Captain gazed up at a concerned looking mercenary. "Jayne?" he asked groggily.

"Zoë says you need to get to the bridge, Cap'n," Jayne said. "Got a Wave you need to take."

XXXXX

Up on the bridge, Zoë greeted the Captain with a look that was both confused and angry. "Sir," she said in a monotone, "I believe there's someone on the Cortex screen you'll want to speak to. Then, hopefully, shoot."

His interest peaked, Mal approached the pilot's chair. The face he saw on the screen made his blood freeze and stole his breath for a moment. "I thought I could look forward to never seein' you again," he said threateningly.

"And I'm sorry to have broken my word to you, Captain Reynolds," said the Operative. "However, I believe I am in possession of some information that may interest you." The former Alliance agent paused, gauging the Captain's reaction, then decided to continue. "I have it under good authority that the government has engaged a few subjects from the Academy as Operatives. Those subjects not fortunate enough to have escaped, like your young Ms. Tam, were engaged in my previous line of work. I've heard they progressed through their training much more quickly than any of my contemporaries, and most are now fully-functioning Operatives."

"What's this got to do with us?" Mal interrupted impatiently. "I ain't of a mind to listen to an Alliance status report right now. I got important matters of my own to attend to. So cut to the quick of things, or you can oblige me by ending this little catch up."

"Captain," the Operative said indulgently, "I believe one of these men may have captured Ms. Tam. I believe you and some of your crew were collateral victims of their kidnapping." Seeing glowering recognition on the Captain's face, the man went on. "I may be able to furnish you with information on their probable whereabouts, if you're interested. In addition, I believe I can be of assistance in recovering your crew member. Are you interested in meeting me to discuss this situation?"

"Assuming I believed you had honorable intentions," Mal said, "and that you could actually help us, what's your stake in this?" The Captain scrutinized the face on the Cortex screen. The Operative was completely unreadable, much to Mal's frustration.

"Captain Reynolds, I believe I proved my ... lack of ill will toward you and your crew the last time we met," answered the other man. "I could very easily have given the kill order, but you and your disturbing broadcast have convinced me that the Alliance is not as honorable as I had once believed. After that unpleasant episode, I did some research of my own, and discovered many unsettling things about my former masters. I wish to halt, to the best of my ability, their forward progress in the manipulation and training of their subjects. If I can also be of assistance to you in retrieving Ms. Tam, all the better. I do not have many allies, so the less enemies I have, the better. I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to prove myself to you."

"Be that as it may," Mal said, "how do I know you're not still working for those _hundans_? How can I be sure I'm not walking the rest of my crew into some sorta trap?" Although his concern for the crew was genuine, the Captain was extremely anxious to hear what the Operative had to say. His concern for River was strong enough for Zoë and Jayne to feel permeating the bridge.

"I am willing to meet you at a place of your choosing, under any conditions you name," the other man answered. "If you are willing to hear me out, I give you my word of honor, whatever it is worth, that no harm will come to you or any of your people. At least for the duration of our meeting. What happens when and if you decide to mount a rescue is completely up to chance and your own skills, of course."

"How soon can you be on Greenleaf?" Mal asked hesitantly. He had a feeling he was making a mistake in trusting this man, but his worry for River overpowered his reservations

XXXXX

"The people who took her are led by an Alliance Operative trained like River," the Operative said three days later. He had landed less than an hour previously and, after a close fly-by and scan by_ Serenity_, .the crew had landed to meet with him. "The young man completed his Academy training however, not being fortunate enough to have a persistent brother. The man looked at Simon in appreciation at that. "If it weren't for you, as a matter of fact, she likely would be leading the new brood of Operatives," he said to the doctor.

The Captain looked at the former Alliance soldier questioningly. "So you're sayin' we're going up against a whole crew of psychic assassin Operatives?" As much as Mal wanted to retrieve his lover, he did not relish the thought of fighting even one of these people, much less an entire team of them.

"No," the Operative answered simply. "Only the leader has Academy training. The rest of his team is made up of elite Federal soldiers. They have special ops training, and are very dangerous, but they're nowhere near as deadly as your young Ms. Tam. By far, the new Operative is the biggest threat."

"Great," Jayne chipped in. "So we're only goin' up against a crazy you who can see us comin' before we even land, and his team of stone cold killers. Sounds simple."

"Where are they?" Mal interrupted tersely. "You said you know where they are."

"Actually, I said I know their probable location," the Operative responded. "There is a secret Blue Sun facility on Whitefall, and I believe that's where this man's team has based themselves." The Operative saw the mild surprise on the faces of _Serenity's_ crew, and clarified. "Blue Sun is rumored to have been the power behind the Academy experiments. They have been taking a more active role in operations concerning the subjects since your Miranda Wave."

"Great," Mal said dryly. "So what we're looking at is a super-Operative with a team of Special Ops bodyguards, locked down in a secure Blue Sun facility on an unfriendly Border moon. Sounds straightforward enough. We got a plan?"

"As a matter of fact," the Operative answered, "I believe I may. Should we adjourn to your ship to discuss it, or shall we remain standing here in the hot sun all afternoon?" With a brief nod toward _Serenity_, Mal led the way toward the open cargo bay doors.

The crew and the Operative spent the rest of the day, and well into the night, discussing their options. Once they had a rough plan of action, Zoë took the ship out of the world and set a course for Whitefall. They had a trip of about six days ahead of them, so she set the autopilot and the crew settled down to rest. The entire voyage was spent in preparations and fine tuning their plans. Mal was adamant that no person in the facility should be left alive once River had been safely extracted, and the facility itself should be destroyed, if at all possible.

The Captain wanted revenge.

* * *

_hundans_ - bastards 


End file.
